Similar Opposites
by RandyPandy
Summary: They were really similar, despite being opposites: Iris was a Navi in the real world. MegaMan was a human in the Cyberworld. Both were out of place. -During-BN6-


Disclaimer: I do not own Mega Man, and made no money off of this fic.

* * *

Iris was studying one of the news monitors at Cyber Academy. It was something that she did on a regular basis, to keep up with the current events since she really didn't get out that much. Nor did she really go into too many public places outside of the park. The park was peaceful, and quiet, but there weren't too many things that she could do there.

"Hey, Iris!"

The girl nearly jumped, but relaxed when she saw Lan approaching from the Teachers' Lounge. Lan, she liked Lan a lot. He was loud, and very sure of himself, but he was kind and helpful to her and others. She'd debated telling him her secret sometimes, but she didn't want to be seen as different. He liked her, and that was enough for her at the moment.

"Hello, Lan... you're still here?" she asked him. Usually, the students had gone home by now.

"Yeah... I was taking a special after-school lesson from Shuuko and AquaMan. Learned quite a bit!" he grinned at her. "Gonna head home to your parents now?"

"Um... not really."

"Why not?" he tilted his head, curious. Quick, she needed to come up with an excuse, or he would become even more confused and suspicious.

"My dad and my brother are usually gone... s-so I'm alone most of the time." There, that worked! She hoped. Either way, Lan seemed to believe it.

"Oh... really? So you do everything by yourself?" Lan didn't seem to like the idea, but he brightened up immediately afterwards. "I know! Why don't you come over to my house tonight?"

"Really...? I don't want to impose on you or your parents..." she trailed off, but Lan interrupted her.

"No, it's fine! Mom would love to see you again, she really likes you!" Lan looked so enthusiastic that Iris found herself unable to say no. Besides, she would get to see what living with a real family was like. A family that consisted of a father, a mother, their son, and their Navis (if either of the parents had Navis).

"Oh... okay! I'll come over!" she smiled at him. Lan beamed, and took her hand. Iris thanked whatever forces were out there that she didn't blush easily as the two of them began walking.

* * *

"Mom! we're home! And we have company!" Lan called, slipping out of his shoes and leaving them on the shoe rack. Catching his example, Iris pulled off her boots, leaving her in her white stockings, and placed them next to the rack since they were too tall to fit.

"Mom, hi!" Lan's Navi, MegaMan called out, waving from the PET screen.

"Welcome back, Lan, MegaMan!" Haruka said. Iris blinked. She was welcoming back the Navi, as well, and MegaMan had called her 'Mom'. Did most people do that? Either way, Haruka's attention was now on her. "And hello, dear. I don't think I caught your name last time."

"M-My name's Iris, Mrs. Hikari," she smiled.

"Hey, mom, can Iris stay the night? Her dad and older brother aren't home," Lan explained.

"Of course! It's not safe for a young girl to be alone at home. You're welcome here anytime you want, Iris!" Haruka said.

"Really...?" They really were so kind to her. "Thank you, Lan, Mrs. Hikari." She yawned a bit; she normally set the CopyBot to recharge unless she was able to get her hands on food (like she could at lunchtime at the school; thank goodness that the CopyBots were designed to process organic matter into energy to move).

"Do you want to rest a bit, Iris?" Lan said. "We've got the guest room upstairs that you can stay in for the night!"

"Oh, thank you, yes please," she said. Anything to be able to mull all of the information she had just learned.

Lan led her upstairs to the room, opening the door to let her in. It was lightly furnished, with a bed, a nightstand with a lamp and a clock on it, and a rather nice plant. She sat down on the bed as Lan stretched as well.

"I'mma grab a shower, Iris," he said, setting the PET down. "MegaMan's here in case you want something, and Mom's downstairs. I'll be back, okay?"

With those words, Lan exited the room, leaving Iris alone with the other Navi. Moments later, she heard the water run from the bathroom. For the first time since she was in the house, she relaxed completely. Another Navi was another of her kind. She lay down on the bed, before moving the PET closer to her.

MegaMan looked up at her. "Hi, Iris," he said, smiling.

"Hi MegaMan," she replied. This felt a bit awkward to her - she normally wasn't very good with conversations, but though she was a little tired, she felt she could hold out until dinner. Sleeping wouldn't do too much for her to recharge at the moment, anyways, and she would have to sleep for several hours to get any recharging in. A thought came to her mind, and she turned back to MegaMan.

"MegaMan?" She waited for the Navi to acknowledge her with a "Hm?" before asking her question. "Sorry if I shouldn't ask, but... why do you call Lan's mother 'Mom'?"

"Um... well... you see... why not? She's Lan's mom, and I'm Lan's Navi," MegaMan said, but even Iris could tell that he was hiding something. It made her curious, but she really ought to not pry.

"O-Oh. I'm sorry if I offended you," Iris said quickly.

"No, it's okay!" MegaMan grinned back at her, and took a more reclining position in the PET. For a few moments, the Navi stared up at her, as if searching for something. Iris recognized that expression; she used it when she was trying to determine whether she could trust someone. Interesting. But whatever it was that MegaMan was searching for in her, he found it.

"I'm a little... different from other Navis," MegaMan finally admitted. Iris blinked at that. Different? Well, he was different from her, that was for sure... she was in the real world. But how could he be different from other Navis? Did he mean his personality. "I'm not actually a Navi."

"You're not?" she blurted out, the statement catching her completely off-guard. Iris realized what she'd said, and almost blushed.

"No, I'm a human," the blue Navi said, fidgeting.

"But... why?" Iris asked. Why would someone take a human and leave him in the Cyberworld, especially someone as kind as MegaMan. Another thought came to her mind. "What's your... human name?" No parent would name their kid 'MegaMan'.

"My name is Hub. Hub Hikari," MegaMan said. "I'm Lan's twin brother that almost died from a fatal heart disease."

"Oh..." She gazed sadly at him. "I'm sorry." Sorry that she was being selfish and using a CopyBot to hide in the real world, while this human was trapped in the Cyberworld and being a Navi. She really should switch places with him, so that she could be a Navi in the Cyberworld and he could be a human in the real world. No wonder he and Lan had allowed him to jump into the CopyBot's without a single thought.

"It's okay," MegaMan said, a bit of cheer coming to his tone. "If Dad hadn't used me as his test subject for the Human-Navi Project, I would have died from my heart disease. But I'm happy. I got to live, and I got to be with my parents and my twin. It's the best thing I ever could have asked for."

"But don't you wish you can be out here, sometimes?" Iris asked. It couldn't be easy, watching one's family partake in activities that one knew they could never do.

"Yeah, I do." MegaMan shrugged. "But being here is better than dying, right? And technology is improving everyday... there are the Pulse Transmission Systems being studied in Den City where humans can enter the Cyberworld, and there are the CopyBots here in Cyber City where Navis can enter the real world. I've gotten the opportunity to meet Lan face-to-face so many times, and hug him... it's amazing. I'm looking forward to the day when I can do it whenever I want."

"You have such a nice outlook on life," Iris said. Meanwhile, here she was, hiding from her creator in the body of a CopyBot, fearing what Lan, Mick, and Tab would tink if they found out she was a Navi. Would MegaMan care? Would he resent her for being able to be out there in the real world with Lan much more? She didn't know, and she didn't want to find out right now.

MegaMan took a deep breath, and looked back at Iris. "Thanks, Iris. It's nice to know that there are other people outside of my family that don't mind this fact."

"You're welcome. Does anyone else know?" She had to know who she could mention it to incase the subject came up, and who not to.

"Oh, a few people... Dad, his Navi CopyMan, Mom, her Navi Plum, Chaud, ProtoMan, Mayl, Roll... Gramps knew, too, I think Dad used part of his research to do this," MegaMan said. "I think that's all. There might be a couple of people that I'm forgetting."

The water from the bathroom turned off at that moment; Lan had to have finished with his shower and was probably changing into dry clothes at the moment. Iris turned back to MegaMan, shifting her position on the bed.

"Thank you, MegaMan," she said.

"Eh? For what?" The Navi seemed confused.

"Nothing big," she smiled, just as Lan bounded back into the room. His hair was soaking wet, and he was dressed in different clothes.

"Hey Iris! You didn't get bored or annoyed with MegaMan, did you?" he asked brightly.

"No, I didn't," she replied, handing the PET over to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks! It's time for dinner, by the way. Come on!" Lan bounded down the stairs with MegaMan, and Iris barely managed to catch the amused expression on the Navi's face before following them. She could hear them nagging at each other like she had seen other siblings do, and like she had done a couple of times with her brother, and smiled.

Sure, Iris was a Navi that was living in the real world, and MegaMan was a human that was living in the Cyberworld. They were complete opposites in their situations. But in a way, they were also kindred spirits.

* * *

**AN:** Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge proved that Haruka had a Navi - I just made it so that she had a custom Navi by then, and named her Plum after the Classic character. Dr. Hikari's Navi was a little harder to figure out. I went with CopyMan, the Navi from Mega Man Battle Network 3 that can change into any Navi. I figured it fit him, especially since in Mega Man Battle Network 2, Dr. Hikari was the Navi Master that can fight you with different Navis in a sidequest. I doubt he personally had data on ALL those Navis... him using CopyMan to simulate them made sense.


End file.
